IN THE MERCURY NEWS: “HOUSING CRISIS: CALIFORNIA BILL AIMS TO HELP THE ‘MISSING MIDDLE’”
IN SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: SF MAYORAL HOPEFULS, MINUS BREED, HOLD HEATED HOUSING DEBATE
March 19, 2018WIENER SCALES BACK BILL THAT WOULD ALLOW TALLER HOUSING NEAR PUBLIC TRANSIT
April 10, 2018
Often, when nonprofit developers make their affordable-housing pitches to local governments, city officials ask what can be done for middle-income workers, said Michael Lane, policy director for the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California, which is co-sponsoring the bill.
As the state’s costliest housing markets and high rents threaten to force all but the highest-paid workers into ever-longer commutes, California lawmakers have introduced a bill to help more teachers, firefighters and other middle-income workers live close to their jobs.
The new legislation, Assembly Bill 3152, would give nonprofit housing developers property tax exemptions on homes in high-cost areas that are rented at a discount to those with moderate incomes. The tax breaks, currently available to developers of low-income housing, would make middle-income rental housing easier to build.